“We should go to the police station and ask them where they caught Mr. Map,” Henry said as they cleared the dishes from the breakfast table.
“While we are in Greenfield, we could get supplies to make decorations for Grandfather’s party,” Violet suggested.
“Good idea, Violet,” Jessie said.
“What’s this about a party?” asked Mrs. McGregor, coming into the kitchen. The Aldens told her about their plans to give their grandfather a surprise birthday party. Mrs. McGregor thought it was a wonderful idea. She told them that she could make a cake that was even prettier than the one at the bakery. “And it will be your grandfather’s favorite flavor, too,” she assured them. “Chocolate with butter-cream frosting.”
“And pink and lavender sugar roses?” Violet asked.
“With green sugar leaves,” Mrs. McGregor added, nodding.
“We have to call Alice and Joe and Soo Lee to invite them,” said Jessie. Soo Lee was the Aldens’ adopted cousin from Korea. Like the Aldens, she had been an orphan, until the Aldens’ cousins, Alice and Joe, had adopted her.
The Alden children had not been living in Korea when they were orphans. They had been living in an old boxcar in the woods. After their parents had died, they had run away because they had heard that their grandfather was a mean man.
But it wasn’t true. He had searched and searched for them and finally found them and brought them all to live with him in his big white house in Greenfield. He had even brought the old boxcar and put it in the backyard so that they could visit it whenever they wanted.
Jessie called Soo Lee and told her about the plans for Grandfather’s party. “Come over this afternoon and help us make decorations and plan it,” she said.
Soo Lee agreed to ride her bike over right after lunch.
“We’d better hurry,” Violet said. “We have a lot to do before Soo Lee gets here.”
Leaving Watch with Mrs. McGregor, the Aldens rode their bikes into Greenfield. First they went to the police station.
Sitting at the front desk was Officer Weatherspoon, the same police officer who had come to the Aldens’ house when it had been broken into.
“Marvin Map?” she repeated, when Henry asked about him. The officer shook her head. “We had to let him go for lack of evidence. He’s a slippery character.”
“What do you mean?” Violet asked.
Officer Weatherspoon said, “We caught him at the intersection of Fox Lane and Windmill Road. He was breathing heavily as if he had been running, although he pretended he was just walking along. He was wearing a raincoat. We’re pretty sure he was the man who grabbed the jewelry. But no one could make a positive identification and we didn’t find any of the jewelry on him.”
“Thank you, Officer Weatherspoon,” Jessie said.
“Why did you want to know?” asked the policewoman.
“We’re going to find the rubies,” Benny blurted out.
Officer Weatherspoon raised her eyebrows, but she didn’t laugh. Instead she said, “Good luck.”
The Aldens got on their bicycles and pedaled as fast as they could to the intersection of Fox Lane and Windmill Road. A small gift shop stood on one corner. A vacant lot was on another. Houses were on the other two corners.
As the Aldens got off their bikes, a huge dog behind a fence began to bark ferociously. Benny jumped back.
Henry said, “I don’t think Mr. Map hid the jewelry there!”
Pointing, Violet said, “Maybe he went into the store and hid it in there.”
But when they asked the owner of the gift shop, she shook her head. “I saw the guy run by across the street,” she told them. “He didn’t come anywhere near my store.”
“Did you see him hide anything? Or throw anything away before the police caught him?” Jessie asked.
Again the store owner shook her head. “Nope. He ran partway up the street, then stopped suddenly, put his hands in his pockets, and began to whistle as if he didn’t have a care in the world. It was almost as if he wanted the police to catch him.”
“Thank you,” Henry said.
When they went back outside, Violet sighed. “I don’t think he hid the jewels near here,” she said.
“No,” Jessie agreed. “But maybe we should look around, just in case.”
The Aldens checked the empty lot, but all they found were tin cans, old newspapers, and one flat tire. “People sure are litterbugs,” Benny said as he gathered up the garbage and put it into a trash can on the corner.
Henry bent and peered into the trash can.
“What are you doing, Henry?” Jessie asked.
“Checking to make sure he didn’t hide the jewels in here. It would be a good place to hide them. Who would ever think of looking for jewels in a trash can?”
But no necklace, ring, or bracelet glittered amid the cans and bottles and papers in the garbage can.
They went to one of the corner houses and knocked on the door. When an old man answered, Violet said politely, “We’re looking for something we lost. Could we check around your front yard?”
“Help yourself,” the man said. “I just cut the grass two days ago, so whatever you lost should show up easily — if it’s there.”
“Thank you,” Violet said.
They carefully searched the yard, even looking under bushes and rocks. But they didn’t find the stolen jewelry. And when they knocked on the front door of the other house, no one answered.
“Let’s retrace Mr. Map’s steps,” Henry suggested. “We saw the officer turn where the thief did. We can figure out where he went.”
But although the Aldens retraced Mr. Map’s escape route all the way back to Main Street, they didn’t find any jewels. Nor did they find a single clue.
“Maybe he’s really not the thief after all,” Jessie said in a discouraged voice.
“Maybe not,” Henry said.
Violet said, “Let’s go talk to Mr. Bellows. We could ask him how to find Ms. Smitts and Mr. Darden, too. Maybe they could remember something that would help us.”
“Good idea,” said Benny.
Mr. Bellows was sitting at the counter in his store, his chin in his hands. He did not look happy.
“Hi, Mr. Bellows,” Benny said.
“What? Oh, hello,” said Mr. Bellows. He didn’t move.
Bending over to look at the rings sparkling on the blue velvet in the glass case, Jessie asked, “Has Mr. Darden been back to buy a ring?”
“No,” said Mr. Bellows. He made a face. “My last customer was the thief. And he wasn’t exactly a paying customer.”
“Have you remembered anything else about the robbery?” Henry asked. “Something else that might help catch the thief?”
“Not a thing,” said Mr. Bellows. “I just bought those rubies recently. How could the thief have known about them?”
“Maybe he had been in your shop before. Maybe he saw them then,” Violet said.
Mr. Bellows shook his head. “No. I put them out the day before yesterday. The only one who could have seen them was Mr. Darden. He was in right before I closed up for the evening that day. But I don’t think he even noticed them. He was looking for a ring.”
“Did anyone else know you had the rubies?” asked Jessie.
“Just me. And the woman who sold them to me, of course. Dr. Anne Marie Kroll,” Mr. Bellows told them.
“Do you think Mr. Darden or Ms. Smitts might remember more about what happened?” Violet asked.
Straightening up, Mr. Bellows said, “I don’t know. Ask them yourself if you’d like.” He reached into his pocket and brought out his notebook. He flipped it open and tore out the piece of paper where they had written their names and addresses.
“Thanks!” Jessie said.
Outside the store, Henry said, “I think we should visit Mr. Darden first.”
“Me, too,” Jessie agreed. “I think it is suspicious that he hasn’t come back to shop for a ring.”
“And he didn’t want the police to have his name and address, either,” Violet reminded them. “That sounds suspicious, too.”
“It sure does,” Henry said. He looked at his watch. “I think we just have time to get supplies and pay a visit to Mr. Darden before lunch. He might be the key to the whole mystery!”
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